US20110262776A1 - Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure - Google Patents
Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20110262776A1 US20110262776A1 US12/765,889 US76588910A US2011262776A1 US 20110262776 A1 US20110262776 A1 US 20110262776A1 US 76588910 A US76588910 A US 76588910A US 2011262776 A1 US2011262776 A1 US 2011262776A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- magnetic recording
- recording medium
- soft
- perpendicular magnetic
- layer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000005291 magnetic effect Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 91
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 28
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 claims description 15
- 229910052804 chromium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 13
- 229910052697 platinum Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 11
- 229910052715 tantalum Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 11
- 229910052796 boron Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 230000004907 flux Effects 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052750 molybdenum Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052763 palladium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052702 rhenium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052721 tungsten Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 9
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052741 iridium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052703 rhodium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052719 titanium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052720 vanadium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910052726 zirconium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 7
- 229910002546 FeCo Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- 229910052742 iron Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- 229910001004 magnetic alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010410 layer Substances 0.000 description 76
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 16
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 14
- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 description 7
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 4
- 230000005415 magnetization Effects 0.000 description 4
- 229910052707 ruthenium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 4
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229910000838 Al alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910000531 Co alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- WHXSMMKQMYFTQS-UHFFFAOYSA-N Lithium Chemical compound [Li] WHXSMMKQMYFTQS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052779 Neodymium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052772 Samarium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052771 Terbium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000005354 aluminosilicate glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052681 coesite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052906 cristobalite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000002241 glass-ceramic Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000006872 improvement Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052744 lithium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000006249 magnetic particle Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052758 niobium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052814 silicon oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000005361 soda-lime glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052682 stishovite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052905 tridymite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 230000004075 alteration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005290 antiferromagnetic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013500 data storage Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008520 organization Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002356 single layer Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
- G11B5/62—Record carriers characterised by the selection of the material
- G11B5/64—Record carriers characterised by the selection of the material comprising only the magnetic material without bonding agent
- G11B5/66—Record carriers characterised by the selection of the material comprising only the magnetic material without bonding agent the record carriers consisting of several layers
- G11B5/667—Record carriers characterised by the selection of the material comprising only the magnetic material without bonding agent the record carriers consisting of several layers including a soft magnetic layer
Definitions
- the invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, and more particularly, to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium with Non-AFC soft magnetic underlayer structure.
- Improvement of recording densities of magnetic recording media requires improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and write-ability.
- Noise reduction of a magnetic recording medium has been conventionally accomplished by reducing the diameter of magnetic particles forming a recording layer and, further, magnetically isolating the magnetic particles in the magnetic recording medium, as well as the soft magnetic under layer (SUL) is used as part of the flux return path to enhance the write field from head during writing process.
- SNR signal-to-noise ratio
- SUL soft magnetic under layer
- AFC SUL structure for perpendicular recording medium manufacturing typically involves an exchange coupling of two amorphous SUL to an antiferomagnetic layer, and is so-called AFC SUL structure.
- the material of SUL is preferably to be high magnetic flux density (Bs) and thick enough.
- This AFC SUL structure is to reduce the noise contributed by SUL during read-out of the recording data.
- a perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate; at least one soft underlayer (SUL) disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer; and a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
- SUL soft underlayer
- a perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes: a substrate; an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate; a plurality of soft underlayers disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer; at least one spacer layer disposed between soft underlayers; and a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
- FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to further embodiment of the present invention.
- the perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a substrate 12 , an adhesion layer 13 , a soft underlayer 14 , an intermediate layer 16 , a magnetic recording layer 18 , and a protective overcoat 20 .
- the substrate 12 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention includes glass, glass-ceramic, NiP/aluminum alloys.
- amorphous glass or crystallized glass is used as the glass substrate.
- the amorphous glass include common soda lime glass and aluminosilicate glass.
- the crystallized glass include lithium-based crystallized glass.
- the adhesion layer 13 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention could be any material that can provide good adhesive property to the substrate to prevent the thin film from peeling-off.
- the most typical material for this adhesion layer 13 is CrTi alloy.
- the thickness of adhesion layer is between 5-20 nm, but not limited thereto.
- the soft underlayer 14 is preferably sandwiched between the adhesion layer 13 and the intermediate layer 16 without having any additional layers therebetween.
- the soft underlayer 14 is disposed to contact the top surface of the adhesion layer 13 and the bottom surface of the intermediate layer 16 .
- a structure having a plurality of soft underlayers 14 sandwiched between the adhesion layer 13 and the intermediate layer 16 without any additional layer therebetween could also be employed, which is also within the scope of the present invention.
- the soft underlayer 14 is preferably composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is also added into this soft underlayer 14 for lowering the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayer 14 .
- the atomic percent of total elements from the above group is equal or larger than 15% and the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayer 14 is controlled less than 1 Tesla.
- the thickness of the soft underlayer 14 is preferably less than 100 nm, but not limited thereto.
- the intermediate layer 16 formed between the soft underlayer 14 and the magnetic recording layer 18 is preferably composed of nonmagnetic material.
- the intermediate layer 16 has two functions including the function to cut the exchange coupling interaction between the soft underlayer 14 and the magnetic recording layer 18 and the function to control the crystallinity of the magnetic recording layer 18 .
- the thickness of the intermediate layer 16 is between 10-30 nm, and the material for the intermediate layer 16 could include Ru, Pd, Ta, Cr, NiW-based alloys.
- the magnetic recording layer 18 is composed of one or more materials that have an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially perpendicular to the substrate 12 .
- the thickness of the magnetic recording layer 18 is between 10-20 nm and the magnetic recording layer 18 is formed from a Co-alloy and may contain elements such as Cr and Pt as well as oxides such as SiO 2 .
- One example of the magnetic recording layer 18 includes CoPtCr—SiOx.
- the magnetic recording layer 18 may contain one or more types of elements selected from B, Ta, Mo, Cu, Nd, W, Nb, Sm, Tb, Ru and Re besides Co, Cr, Pt and the oxides.
- the protective overcoat 20 is provided for the purpose of preventing corrosion of the magnetic recording layer 18 and also preventing the surface of a medium from being damaged when a magnetic head is brought into contact with the medium.
- the thickness of the protective overcoat 20 is between 1-5 nm and the material of the protective overcoat 20 is typically Diamond-like carbon (DLC).
- FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a substrate 32 , an adhesion layer 33 , a plurality of soft underlayers 34 , a spacer layer 35 sandwiched between the soft underlayers 34 , an intermediate layer 36 , a magnetic recording layer 38 , and a protective overcoat 40 .
- the substrate 32 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention includes glass, glass-ceramic, NiP/aluminum alloys.
- amorphous glass or crystallized glass is used as the glass substrate.
- the amorphous glass include common soda lime glass and aluminosilicate glass.
- the crystallized glass include lithium-based crystallized glass.
- the adhesion layer 13 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention could be any material that can provide good adhesive property to the substrate to prevent the thin film from peeling-off.
- the most typical material for this adhesion layer 13 is CrTi alloy.
- the thickness of adhesion layer is between 5-20 nm, but not limited thereto.
- the two soft underlayers 34 are sandwiched between the adhesion layer 33 and the intermediate layer 36 with a spacer layer 35 therebetween.
- the number of the spacer layer 35 and the soft underlayers 34 is not limited thereto and the vertically interlacing manner between the spacer layer 35 and the soft underlayers 34 could all be adjusted according to the demand of the product.
- two spacer layers 35 could be sandwiched between three soft underlayers 34 , as shown in FIG. 3 .
- each of the soft underlayer 34 in FIG. 3 could also include a plurality of soft underlayers, which is also within the scope of the present invention.
- the soft underlayers 34 are composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is added into this soft underlayers 34 for lowering the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayers 34 .
- the atomic percent of total elements from the above group is equal or larger than 15% and the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayers 34 is controlled less than 1 Tesla.
- the total thickness of all soft underlayers 34 is preferably less than 100 nm and the thickness of the spacer layer 35 is between 0.3 nm to 5 nm, but not limited thereto.
- the material of the spacer layer 35 could be the same as or different from the material of the soft underlayers 34 .
- the intermediate layer 36 formed between the soft underlayers 34 and the magnetic recording layer 38 is preferably composed of nonmagnetic material.
- the thickness of the intermediate layer 36 is between 10-30 nm, and the material for the intermediate layer 36 could include Ru, Pd, Ta, Cr, NiW-based alloys
- the magnetic recording layer 38 is composed of one or more materials that have an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially perpendicular to the substrate 32 .
- the thickness of the magnetic recording layer 38 is between 10-20 nm, and the magnetic recording layer 38 is formed from a Co-alloy and may contain elements such as Cr and Pt as well as oxides such as SiO 2 .
- the magnetic recording layer 38 includes CoPtCr—SiOx.
- the magnetic recording layer 38 may also contain one or more types of elements selected from B, Ta, Mo, Cu, Nd, W, Nb, Sm, Tb, Ru and Re besides Co, Cr, Pt and the oxides.
- the thickness of the protective overcoat 40 disposed on top of the magnetic recording layer 38 is between 1-5 nm and the material of the protective overcoat 40 is typically Diamond-like carbon (DLC).
- DLC Diamond-like carbon
- the present invention disposes at least a soft underlayer between the adhesion layer and the intermediate layer of a perpendicular magnetic recoding medium, in which the soft underlayer could be a single layer contacting the adhesion layer and the intermediate layer or a plurality of soft underlayers interlaced with a plurality of spacer layers.
- the soft underlayer is preferably composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is added into this soft underlayer.
- the SUL structure of the present invention is preferably a Non-AFC SUL structure, and even a spacer is disposed between two SUL, no antiferromagnetic coupling is observed between the two SUL, which is preferably the main difference between the present invention and the conventional SUL structure. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio and write-ability of the perpendicular magnetic recording medium is improved substantially.
Abstract
A perpendicular magnetic recording medium is disclosed. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate; at least one soft underlayer (SUL) disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer, wherein the soft underlayer contacts the intermediate layer and the substrate; and a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium, and more particularly, to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium with Non-AFC soft magnetic underlayer structure.
- 2. Description of the Prior Art
- With the advent of the Information Age, the amount of digital information that a person or organization deals with has significantly increased. For example, many people use computers that have high data processing speeds and large information storage capacities to access the Internet and obtain various pieces of information. Central processing unit (CPU) chips and computer peripheral units have been improved to enhance the speed of data processing in computers, and various types of high density information storage media like hard disks are being developed to enhance data storage capabilities of computers.
- Recently, various types of recording media have been introduced. Most of the recording media use a magnetic layer as a data recording layer. Data recording types for magnetic recording media can be classified into longitudinal magnetic recording and perpendicular magnetic recording.
- In longitudinal magnetic recording, data is recorded using the parallel alignment of the magnetization of the magnetic layer on a surface of the magnetic layer. In perpendicular magnetic recording, data is recorded using the perpendicular alignment of the magnetization of the magnetic layer on a surface of the magnetic layer. From the perspective of data recording density, the perpendicular magnetic recording is more advantageous than the longitudinal magnetic recording.
- Improvement of recording densities of magnetic recording media requires improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and write-ability. Noise reduction of a magnetic recording medium has been conventionally accomplished by reducing the diameter of magnetic particles forming a recording layer and, further, magnetically isolating the magnetic particles in the magnetic recording medium, as well as the soft magnetic under layer (SUL) is used as part of the flux return path to enhance the write field from head during writing process.
- Current SUL structure for perpendicular recording medium manufacturing typically involves an exchange coupling of two amorphous SUL to an antiferomagnetic layer, and is so-called AFC SUL structure. The material of SUL is preferably to be high magnetic flux density (Bs) and thick enough. This AFC SUL structure is to reduce the noise contributed by SUL during read-out of the recording data.
- It is an objective of the present invention to provide a perpendicular magnetic recording medium with improved signal-to noise ratio and write-ability.
- According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a perpendicular magnetic recording medium is disclosed. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes a substrate; an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate; at least one soft underlayer (SUL) disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer; and a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
- According to another aspect of the present invention, a perpendicular magnetic recording medium is disclosed. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes: a substrate; an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate; a plurality of soft underlayers disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer; at least one spacer layer disposed between soft underlayers; and a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
- These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
-
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to further embodiment of the present invention. - Referring to
FIG. 1 ,FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that as area density becomes higher and higher, write width of the recording medium also becomes narrower and narrower. The magnetic field from head main pole to return pole of amagnetic head 22 also becomes narrower and narrower, such as from thefield 24 to thefield 26 as illustrated inFIG. 1 . It is believed that thicker and high Bs SUL is no longer a constrain for future high density recording media. Hence, a Non-AFC SUL structure using low Bs (<=1 Tesla) and thinner amorphous SUL material proven to improve SNR & writability but does not contribute noise during read-out process is disclosed. - As shown in
FIG. 1 , the perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes asubstrate 12, anadhesion layer 13, asoft underlayer 14, anintermediate layer 16, amagnetic recording layer 18, and aprotective overcoat 20. - The
substrate 12 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention includes glass, glass-ceramic, NiP/aluminum alloys. As the glass substrate, amorphous glass or crystallized glass is used. Examples of the amorphous glass include common soda lime glass and aluminosilicate glass. Examples of the crystallized glass include lithium-based crystallized glass. - The
adhesion layer 13 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention could be any material that can provide good adhesive property to the substrate to prevent the thin film from peeling-off. The most typical material for thisadhesion layer 13 is CrTi alloy. The thickness of adhesion layer is between 5-20 nm, but not limited thereto. - The
soft underlayer 14 is preferably sandwiched between theadhesion layer 13 and theintermediate layer 16 without having any additional layers therebetween. In other words, thesoft underlayer 14 is disposed to contact the top surface of theadhesion layer 13 and the bottom surface of theintermediate layer 16. Despite only onesoft underlayer 14 is revealed in this embodiment, a structure having a plurality ofsoft underlayers 14 sandwiched between theadhesion layer 13 and theintermediate layer 16 without any additional layer therebetween could also be employed, which is also within the scope of the present invention. - In this embodiment, the
soft underlayer 14 is preferably composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is also added into thissoft underlayer 14 for lowering the magnetic flux density (Bs) of thesoft underlayer 14. Preferably, the atomic percent of total elements from the above group is equal or larger than 15% and the magnetic flux density (Bs) of thesoft underlayer 14 is controlled less than 1 Tesla. The thickness of thesoft underlayer 14 is preferably less than 100 nm, but not limited thereto. - The
intermediate layer 16 formed between thesoft underlayer 14 and themagnetic recording layer 18 is preferably composed of nonmagnetic material. Theintermediate layer 16 has two functions including the function to cut the exchange coupling interaction between thesoft underlayer 14 and themagnetic recording layer 18 and the function to control the crystallinity of themagnetic recording layer 18. In this embodiment, the thickness of theintermediate layer 16 is between 10-30 nm, and the material for theintermediate layer 16 could include Ru, Pd, Ta, Cr, NiW-based alloys. - The
magnetic recording layer 18 is composed of one or more materials that have an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially perpendicular to thesubstrate 12. In this embodiment, the thickness of themagnetic recording layer 18 is between 10-20 nm and themagnetic recording layer 18 is formed from a Co-alloy and may contain elements such as Cr and Pt as well as oxides such as SiO2. One example of themagnetic recording layer 18 includes CoPtCr—SiOx. Themagnetic recording layer 18 may contain one or more types of elements selected from B, Ta, Mo, Cu, Nd, W, Nb, Sm, Tb, Ru and Re besides Co, Cr, Pt and the oxides. - The
protective overcoat 20 is provided for the purpose of preventing corrosion of themagnetic recording layer 18 and also preventing the surface of a medium from being damaged when a magnetic head is brought into contact with the medium. Preferably, the thickness of theprotective overcoat 20 is between 1-5 nm and the material of theprotective overcoat 20 is typically Diamond-like carbon (DLC). - Referring to
FIG. 2 ,FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 2 , the perpendicular magnetic recording medium includes asubstrate 32, anadhesion layer 33, a plurality ofsoft underlayers 34, aspacer layer 35 sandwiched between thesoft underlayers 34, anintermediate layer 36, amagnetic recording layer 38, and aprotective overcoat 40. - The
substrate 32 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention includes glass, glass-ceramic, NiP/aluminum alloys. As the glass substrate, amorphous glass or crystallized glass is used. Examples of the amorphous glass include common soda lime glass and aluminosilicate glass. Examples of the crystallized glass include lithium-based crystallized glass. - The
adhesion layer 13 that may be used in the embodiments of the invention could be any material that can provide good adhesive property to the substrate to prevent the thin film from peeling-off. The most typical material for thisadhesion layer 13 is CrTi alloy. The thickness of adhesion layer is between 5-20 nm, but not limited thereto. - The two
soft underlayers 34 are sandwiched between theadhesion layer 33 and theintermediate layer 36 with aspacer layer 35 therebetween. Despite only onespacer layer 35 and twosoft underlayers 34 are revealed in this embodiment, the number of thespacer layer 35 and thesoft underlayers 34 is not limited thereto and the vertically interlacing manner between thespacer layer 35 and thesoft underlayers 34 could all be adjusted according to the demand of the product. For instance, twospacer layers 35 could be sandwiched between threesoft underlayers 34, as shown inFIG. 3 . Moreover, each of thesoft underlayer 34 inFIG. 3 could also include a plurality of soft underlayers, which is also within the scope of the present invention. Similar to the aforementioned embodiment, thesoft underlayers 34 are composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is added into thissoft underlayers 34 for lowering the magnetic flux density (Bs) of thesoft underlayers 34. Preferably, the atomic percent of total elements from the above group is equal or larger than 15% and the magnetic flux density (Bs) of thesoft underlayers 34 is controlled less than 1 Tesla. The total thickness of allsoft underlayers 34 is preferably less than 100 nm and the thickness of thespacer layer 35 is between 0.3 nm to 5 nm, but not limited thereto. The material of thespacer layer 35 could be the same as or different from the material of thesoft underlayers 34. - The
intermediate layer 36 formed between thesoft underlayers 34 and themagnetic recording layer 38 is preferably composed of nonmagnetic material. In this embodiment, the thickness of theintermediate layer 36 is between 10-30 nm, and the material for theintermediate layer 36 could include Ru, Pd, Ta, Cr, NiW-based alloys - The
magnetic recording layer 38 is composed of one or more materials that have an easy axis of magnetization oriented substantially perpendicular to thesubstrate 32. In this embodiment, the thickness of themagnetic recording layer 38 is between 10-20 nm, and themagnetic recording layer 38 is formed from a Co-alloy and may contain elements such as Cr and Pt as well as oxides such as SiO2. One example of themagnetic recording layer 38 includes CoPtCr—SiOx. Themagnetic recording layer 38 may also contain one or more types of elements selected from B, Ta, Mo, Cu, Nd, W, Nb, Sm, Tb, Ru and Re besides Co, Cr, Pt and the oxides. - Preferably, the thickness of the
protective overcoat 40 disposed on top of themagnetic recording layer 38 is between 1-5 nm and the material of theprotective overcoat 40 is typically Diamond-like carbon (DLC). - Overall, the present invention disposes at least a soft underlayer between the adhesion layer and the intermediate layer of a perpendicular magnetic recoding medium, in which the soft underlayer could be a single layer contacting the adhesion layer and the intermediate layer or a plurality of soft underlayers interlaced with a plurality of spacer layers. The soft underlayer is preferably composed of Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys, and one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au is added into this soft underlayer. By adjusting the atomic percent of the element in the group, such as to a value equal or larger than 15%, the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayer could be reduced to less than 1 Tesla. The SUL structure of the present invention is preferably a Non-AFC SUL structure, and even a spacer is disposed between two SUL, no antiferromagnetic coupling is observed between the two SUL, which is preferably the main difference between the present invention and the conventional SUL structure. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio and write-ability of the perpendicular magnetic recording medium is improved substantially.
- Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.
Claims (18)
1. A perpendicular magnetic recording medium, comprising:
a substrate;
an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate;
at least one soft underlayer (SUL) disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer, wherein the soft underlayer contacts the intermediate layer and the substrate; and
a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
2. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayer is less than 1 Tesla.
3. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the soft underlayer comprises Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys.
4. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the soft underlayer further comprises one or more elements selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au.
5. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 4 , wherein the atomic percent of total of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au in the soft underlayer is equal or larger than 15%.
6. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the soft underlayer is less than 100 nm.
7. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , further comprising a carbon overcoat disposed on the magnetic recording layer.
8. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the at least one soft underlayer comprises a plurality of soft underlayers.
9. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 1 , further comprising an adhesion layer disposed between the substrate and the soft underlayer.
10. A perpendicular magnetic recording medium, comprising:
a substrate;
an intermediate layer disposed on the substrate;
a plurality of soft underlayers disposed between the substrate and the intermediate layer;
at least one spacer layer disposed between the soft underlayers; and
a magnetic recording layer disposed on the intermediate layer.
11. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the magnetic flux density (Bs) of the soft underlayers is less than 1 Tesla.
12. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the soft underlayers comprise Fe, Co, or FeCo based amorphous soft magnetic alloys.
13. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the soft underlayers are selected from a group consisting of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au.
14. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 13 , wherein the atomic percent of total of Cr, Ta, Ti, B, Al, Zr, Ru, Nb, Ni, Si, V, W, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Hf, Re, Ir, Pt, and Au in the soft underlayers is equal or larger than 15%.
15. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the thickness of total of the soft underlayers is less than 100 nm.
16. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , further comprising a carbon overcoat disposed on the magnetic recording layer.
17. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the spacer layer is between 0.3 nm to 5 nm.
18. The perpendicular magnetic recording medium of claim 10 , wherein the at least one spacer layer comprises a plurality of spacer layers between the soft underlayers.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/765,889 US20110262776A1 (en) | 2010-04-23 | 2010-04-23 | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US12/765,889 US20110262776A1 (en) | 2010-04-23 | 2010-04-23 | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20110262776A1 true US20110262776A1 (en) | 2011-10-27 |
Family
ID=44816057
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/765,889 Abandoned US20110262776A1 (en) | 2010-04-23 | 2010-04-23 | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20110262776A1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120156523A1 (en) * | 2010-06-03 | 2012-06-21 | Wd Media (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Medium And Method Of Manufacturing Same |
CN103247303A (en) * | 2012-02-14 | 2013-08-14 | 昭和电工株式会社 | Magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus |
US9548073B1 (en) * | 2013-03-13 | 2017-01-17 | WD Media, LLC | Systems and methods for providing high performance soft magnetic underlayers for magnetic recording media |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070111035A1 (en) * | 2000-12-28 | 2007-05-17 | Showa Denko K.K. | Magnetic recording medium, method of producing the same and magnetic recording and reproducing device |
US20080118781A1 (en) * | 2005-02-01 | 2008-05-22 | Tohoku University | Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Media, Production Process Thereof, and Perpendicular Magnetic Recording and Reproducing Apparatus |
US20080180843A1 (en) * | 2007-01-18 | 2008-07-31 | Zhengang Zhang | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and hard disk drive using the same |
-
2010
- 2010-04-23 US US12/765,889 patent/US20110262776A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070111035A1 (en) * | 2000-12-28 | 2007-05-17 | Showa Denko K.K. | Magnetic recording medium, method of producing the same and magnetic recording and reproducing device |
US20080118781A1 (en) * | 2005-02-01 | 2008-05-22 | Tohoku University | Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Media, Production Process Thereof, and Perpendicular Magnetic Recording and Reproducing Apparatus |
US20080180843A1 (en) * | 2007-01-18 | 2008-07-31 | Zhengang Zhang | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and hard disk drive using the same |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120156523A1 (en) * | 2010-06-03 | 2012-06-21 | Wd Media (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Medium And Method Of Manufacturing Same |
CN103247303A (en) * | 2012-02-14 | 2013-08-14 | 昭和电工株式会社 | Magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus |
US20130208578A1 (en) * | 2012-02-14 | 2013-08-15 | Showa Denko K.K. | Magnetic recording medium and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus |
US9548073B1 (en) * | 2013-03-13 | 2017-01-17 | WD Media, LLC | Systems and methods for providing high performance soft magnetic underlayers for magnetic recording media |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
JP5260510B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and method for manufacturing perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
US8003237B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording disk and manufacturing method thereof | |
US8431257B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
EP2037452B1 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing the same | |
US20090311557A1 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording disk and method of manufacturing the same | |
JP5858252B2 (en) | Magnetic storage | |
US20110003175A1 (en) | Composite perpendicular media with graded anisotropy layers and exchange break layers | |
JP5227634B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium and method of manufacturing perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
JP2012033257A (en) | Device including magnetic layer and exchange break layer | |
EP1863016B1 (en) | Magnetic recording medium and magnetic storage apparatus | |
US20080199734A1 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium, manufacturing method thereof and magnetic recording device | |
KR101797605B1 (en) | Magnetic recording media with reliable writability and erasure | |
US20110262776A1 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with non-afc soft magnetic underlayer structure | |
US9990951B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording with multiple antiferromagnetically coupled layers | |
JP3892401B2 (en) | Manufacturing method of disk substrate for perpendicular magnetic recording medium, and manufacturing method of perpendicular magnetic recording disk | |
JP2009245479A (en) | Vertical magnetic recording medium | |
US9053732B2 (en) | Method of fabricating a perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
JP2008276863A (en) | Vertical magnetic recording medium, its manufacturing method and magnetic recording device | |
JP2005243093A (en) | Vertical magnetic recording medium and its manufacturing method | |
JP2002208128A (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
US20080285177A1 (en) | Magnetic recording medium, method for manufacturing the same, and magnetic recording apparatus | |
JP2006085806A (en) | Magnetic recording medium | |
JP2009245477A (en) | Vertical magnetic recording medium | |
JPWO2008133060A1 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium | |
JP5542372B2 (en) | Perpendicular magnetic recording medium |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SHOWA DENKO HD TRACE CORPORATION, TAIWAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:CHEN, SHIH-CHIN;TSAI, CHANG-DAR;CHEN, YU-WEN;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:024276/0170 Effective date: 20100422 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |